Suggested Books

Suggested Books

The Christ And The Buddha: How Can You Explain the Uncanny Similarities?

Buddhism and Christianity arose independently of each other, separated as they were by almost 3,000 miles and at least 500 years. In terms of religious belief systems they are even farther apart. Many Buddhists, for instance, don't believe in a supreme being. Christianity is based on such a belief. The Buddha was careful to reject any efforts to label him a deity. Christ claimed to be one with God. The Buddha taught his followers to find the Middle Way between poles of opposites such as good and evil. Christ encouraged his disciples to choose the good and reject the evil.

But despite the differences there exists an uncanny similarity in how an underlying mythology shaped the stories of the founders of these two world religions. We can't help but wonder if writers shaped their origin story to fit a mythological pattern of some kind. The principle texts of both religions were written down only after decades, and in some cases centuries, had passed since the founder's death, leaving plenty of time to organize oral tradition into familiar and acceptable frameworks. How else can we explain such an uncanny similarity?

Both Left Home & Faced Down Evil

Consider the following:

Both Siddhartha Gautama, who was to become the Buddha, and Jesus of Nazareth, who was to become the Christ, are said to have left their homes in the prime of their lives, seeking truths that exist beyond the scope of most people's interest. Both were eventually led into a wilderness where, alone, they faced the devil and his traditional three temptations.

Jesus preached what has come to be known as the Sermon on the Mount , wherein he outlined, in the Beatitudes, a model for Christian life. Both sermons detailed, in systematic fashion, how followers were to live out the precepts of the founders.

Both Betrayed!

Both then selected a group of twelve disciples—one of whom was to later become a betrayer. Although the Buddha lived on into old life, both men eventually died at the hands of another man, who they each forgave before succumbing to death.

Jim Willis

After graduating from the Eastman School of Music Jim Willis became a high school band and orchestra teacher during the week a symphony trombonist on the weekends a jazz musician at night and a choral conductor on Sunday mornings The... Read More

Comments

Excellent article. I’ve always thought there were many similarities between Buddhism and Christianity. If we dug deeper, I’m certain that even more similarities would be found. They show how we should live our lives

Though Buddhism is indeed a religion and is practiced as such, there is in some ways more of a philosophic bent to it, such that if one wanted to be both a Buddhist in philosophy and a Christian or a Jew in religious practice, I shouldn't think it would matter much. I think Sufism is sort of a blend of Islamic and Buddhist traditions.

Given the contemporaneous and near-contemporaneous writings that mention Jesus, I think the more logical assumption is that he did exist. What I think is more interesting is that Josephus devotes more mentions to his brother James, and those have no reference as James as a Christian. It seems he was the more important figure at time Josephus was writing, and squarely in the Jewish religion.

Famous (former) atheist Anthony Flew also left his home and Methodist upbringing, faced opposition, spread teachings, and although he wasn't a priest he certainly had a system of views. (Which changed again when he became theist.)

I think these points in the article may be way too broad to draw useful parallels from.

Contrary to popular belief, Jesus of the New Testament is a mythic figure, not a historic one. Nowhere outside scripture has he ever existed and this is proven in his life as an astrological allegory...

Picturesque and exotic, with their crowns and camels, the three kings regularly appear on Christmas cards and in nativity scenes. But how much is original, and how much is later addition for the sake...

In Sivershchina, close to the village of Mizyn in Ukraine is one of the oldest and most unique settlements of humans – and it was discovered in a parking lot. The now well-known archaeological site, known plainly as the Mizyn parking lot, dates back 18-20 thousand years.

A mysterious ancient tomb with “unusual and rare” wall paintings has been discovered in Egypt. Antiquities Minister Khaled al-Enany told BBC reporters the discovery of a 4,400-year-old tomb found during excavation work in Giza’s western cemetery “likely belonged to Hetpet, a priestess to Hathor, the goddess of fertility, who assisted women in childbirth.”

Human Origins

Western society has a rather specific view of what a good childhood should be like; protecting, sheltering and legislating to ensure compliance with it. However, perceptions of childhood vary greatly with geography, culture and time.

Ancient Technology

In Sivershchina, close to the village of Mizyn in Ukraine is one of the oldest and most unique settlements of humans – and it was discovered in a parking lot. The now well-known archaeological site, known plainly as the Mizyn parking lot, dates back 18-20 thousand years.

Ancient Places

A mysterious ancient tomb with “unusual and rare” wall paintings has been discovered in Egypt. Antiquities Minister Khaled al-Enany told BBC reporters the discovery of a 4,400-year-old tomb found during excavation work in Giza’s western cemetery “likely belonged to Hetpet, a priestess to Hathor, the goddess of fertility, who assisted women in childbirth.”

Opinion

The famously disastrous Genesis flood was merely a local flood, argue critics of the literal interpretation of the Bible. Fundamentalists contest that the flood was indeed global. What is the truth of the flood stories? Could ancient sources have been misinterpreted?

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